Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Let's Pub Rock Again Like We Did Last Summer: Part II (Special Down by the Banks of the River Thames Edition)

And speaking as we were yesterday of that fabulous new 3-CD set Surrender to the Rhythm: The London Pub Rock Scene of the Seventies...

...I should stipulate that there are a couple of bands included on the anthology that have me scratching my head; I'll get into that more as the week goes on, but let's just say that what a glam-era track by Mott the Hoople is doing on the album is beyond me.

That said, here's the cut that closes disc three, and obviously it simply HAD to be there. From 1979, it's The Inmates and their absolutely killer reworking of The Standells "Dirty Water."

Which should be on anybody's short list of cover versions that improve on the originals.

Tomorrow I wax all historical and at more than usual length on the pub rock movement, but don't worry -- there will also be a great song to go with my wanking.

2 comments:

staccato66 said...

I have always loved The Inmates' version of "Dirty Water", and consider it among the exceedingly rare covers of classic songs that are worthy of the originals. But to suggest that anything could actually improve upon The Standells' original "Dirty Water" is sheer blasphemy, if not excommunicable heresy.

Just saying. And, y'know, not to accuse you of insufficient cynicism or anything.

MJConroy said...

It is a great cover, but weird to hear Boston changed to London, so now instead of a California band singing about Boston, we have a British band singing about women locked in dorms in London?